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Lamentations 4
Names of God Bible
Lamentations 4
Names of God Bible
The Prophet Speaks Out: Zion’s Suffering Was Worse Than Sodom’s
4 [a]“Look how the gold has become tarnished!
The fine gold has changed!
The sacred stones are scattered at every street corner.
2 “Zion’s precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like clay pots,
like those made by a potter’s hands.
3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young,
but the women of my people are as cruel as wild ostriches.
4 The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths
because of their thirst.
Little children beg for bread,
but no one will break off a piece for them.
5 Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets.
Those who used to wear expensive clothes now pick through piles of garbage.
6 The punishment for my people’s wickedness has been more severe
than the punishment for the sins of Sodom.
Sodom was destroyed instantly, without one human hand touching it.
7 Zion’s princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk.
Their bodies were more pink than coral.
Their hair was like sapphires.
8 Their faces are now blacker than soot.
No one recognizes them on the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones.
It has become as dry as bark.
9 Those who were killed with swords are better off
than those who are dying from starvation.
Those who were stabbed bled to death.
The others are dying because there is nothing in the fields to eat.
10 The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children.
The children were used for food by my people
when they were being destroyed by a blockade.
11 Yahweh’s fury has accomplished his purpose.
He unleashed his burning anger.
He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations.
12 Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe
that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.
13 They got through because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets
and the crimes of its priests,
who spilled the blood of righteous people within it.
14 My people staggered blindly through the streets.
They were so contaminated with bloodstains
that no one would touch their clothes.
15 ‘Get away! You’re unclean,’[b] people yelled at them.
‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’
When they fled and wandered around,
the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’
16 Yahweh himself has scattered them.
He will no longer look favorably on them.
They no longer respected the priests,
nor did they honor their older leaders.”
The People of Zion Speak Out
17 “We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help.
We waited and waited for a nation that didn’t save us.
18 The enemy kept tracking us down,
so we couldn’t even go out into the streets.
Our end was near.
Our time was up.
Our end had come.
19 Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky.
They chased us in the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
20 The person Yahweh anointed as king, who is the breath of our life,
was caught in their pits.
We had thought that we would live
in our king’s shadow among the nations.”
The Prophet Speaks Out: Be Warned about Edom’s Impending Doom
21 “Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz.
The cup of the Lord’s fury will be passed to you next.
You’ll get drunk and take off all your clothes.
22 People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end.
Yahweh will not let you remain in exile.
People of Edom, he will punish you for your wickedness.
He will expose your sins.”
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 Chapter 4 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.
- Lamentations 4:15 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
Lamentations 4
New International Version
Lamentations 4
New International Version
4 [a]How the gold has lost its luster,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at every street corner.(A)
2 How the precious children of Zion,(B)
once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
like ostriches in the desert.(C)
4 Because of thirst(D) the infant’s tongue
sticks to the roof of its mouth;(E)
the children beg for bread,
but no one gives it to them.(F)
5 Those who once ate delicacies
are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple(G)
now lie on ash heaps.(H)
6 The punishment of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,(I)
which was overthrown in a moment
without a hand turned to help her.
7 Their princes were brighter than snow
and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
their appearance like lapis lazuli.
8 But now they are blacker(J) than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;(K)
it has become as dry as a stick.
9 Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of famine;(L)
racked with hunger, they waste away
for lack of food from the field.(M)
10 With their own hands compassionate women
have cooked their own children,(N)
who became their food
when my people were destroyed.
11 The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;(O)
he has poured out(P) his fierce anger.(Q)
He kindled a fire(R) in Zion
that consumed her foundations.(S)
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.(T)
13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,(U)
who shed within her
the blood(V) of the righteous.
14 Now they grope through the streets
as if they were blind.(W)
They are so defiled with blood(X)
that no one dares to touch their garments.
15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander(Y) about,
people among the nations say,
“They can stay here no longer.”(Z)
16 The Lord himself has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.(AA)
The priests are shown no honor,
the elders(AB) no favor.(AC)
17 Moreover, our eyes failed,
looking in vain(AD) for help;(AE)
from our towers we watched
for a nation(AF) that could not save us.
18 People stalked us at every step,
so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
for our end had come.(AG)
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than eagles(AH) in the sky;
they chased us(AI) over the mountains
and lay in wait for us in the desert.(AJ)
20 The Lord’s anointed,(AK) our very life breath,
was caught in their traps.(AL)
We thought that under his shadow(AM)
we would live among the nations.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Lamentations 4
King James Version
Lamentations 4
King James Version
4 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.
16 The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
Names of God Bible (NOG)
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